i didn’t find anything in the archives about this..
i want to find a book for my friend who is interested in learning about irish trad. i was wondering if there existed anything like a “who’s who of irish traditional music” or irish trad for dummies. anyone know of something like that that is reader friendly for someone who doesn’t know much? and that gives an overall view of the scene?
The Rough Guide to Irish Music is a decent take, with info on many of the artists.
Kevin Krell
There are a few resources worth looking into.
Gearoid O’hAllmhurain wrote “A Pocket History of Irish Traditional Music” that is a good reference, if a bit dry.
Ciaran Carson wrote a similar guide, whose name escapes me, and I haven’t read it…I would expect it to be more entertaining and opinionated.
Fintan Vallely edited “The Companion to Irish Traditional Music,” which is the most encyclopedic of the recent bunch, though fraught with omissions and a fair number of errors.
'The rough guide to Irish music’will be right up your friend’s street-it’s what it says on the cover,and it’s cheap-I think that I paid 6.99 sterling for my copy. A good introduction to Trad. and more recent developments.
i found the rough guide on amazon and it should definately do the trick . thanks for the help.
c r a m e r
Ciaran Carson’s “Irish Traditional Music” is indeed entertaining. You won’t find a real “Who’s Who” list, though, unless you count the reccommended records appendix. This pocket guide is more dedicated to clarifying what IrTrad is, and frequently accomplishes this by pointing out what it is NOT. Also covered are instruments, the dance and song traditions, the modern face of the tradition, etiquette. I’d recommend it just to add to the confusion. 
N, hope this helps
There was a good thread on books a while back.
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=2918&forum=1
Carol
1.) Don’t know what your friend plays, but here is a good cross-section of available books:
http://www.itma.ie/home/leaf3a.htm
2.) And Brendan Breathnach’s 5 volume Ceol Rinnce na hÉireann is THE definitive book, on the tunes themselves; it also contains a good deal of info on various musicians, as well. I could e-mail you the English translation, if you can’t find it elsewhere - send me a PM.
'luck now,
brian k.